Retired electrician astonishes art world by producing 271 works by Picasso never seen before

Frenchman who used to work on surrealist's estate had been keeping them in his garage on the Riviera

The art world was in shock today after learning that a retired electrician who worked for Pablo Picasso in the Seventies has come forward with 271 previously unknown works by the artist.

The staggering trove of lithographs, cubist paintings, notebooks and a watercolour is said to be authentic, with an estimated value of at least £50million.

Jean-Jacques Neuer, the administrator
of Picasso's estate, says Pierre Le Guennec and his wife squirrelled
away the collection in their garage on the French Riviera.

Treasure trove: Pierre Le Guennec, Picasso's former handyman, pictured outside his home in Mouans-Sartoux, south-eastern France, where he stashed the 271 works by Picasso

The couple said that they were given the works by Picasso and his wife, Jacqueline, according to a police official.Mr
Le Guennec showed many of the works to Picasso's son Claude and other
estate administrators who believe the works are authentic.

He claims to have installed
burglar alarm systems at Picasso's numerous houses in France before the
artist died in 1973, and says he was given the works as
gifts.

But the administrators have filed a case for alleged illegal receipt of the works of art.

A painting of a hand by Picasso that was among 271 undocumented, never-before-seen works estimated to be worth at least £50million

Pablo Picasso, right, whose electrician claims to have been given 271 of his works of art as gifts, and Picasso's son Claude who doesn't believe Le Guennec's account of how he acquired the pictures

According
to French newspaper Liberation, Picasso's son, Claude doubted Mr Le
Guennec's explanation about how he came into possession of the works
and contacted the Central Office for the Fight Against Traffic in
Cultural Goods.

Claude Picasso, quoted in
Liberation, noted that his father was known for his generosity - but
that he always dedicated, dated and signed his gifts, as he knew that
some recipients might try to sell the works one day.

'To give away such a large quantity, that's unheard-of. It doesn't hold water,' he said. 'This was part of his life.'

A painting "Still life glass sand" and a drawing 'Nu Assis (Sitting nude)' which feature among the 271 hitherto unseen works by Picasso produced by the artist's electrician

Another Picasso drawing, this time of a horse, from Pierre Le Guennec's collection that he kept in his garage

Two of the newly discovered Picasso drawings, one in a notebook, above left, and the other called 'Nature Morte Verre' (Still life Glass)

Mr Neuer said: 'Claude Picasso was
astounded. He couldn't believe his eyes. Just about everybody has felt
that way ... when you have 271 Picasso works that were never seen,
never inventoried - that's just unprecedented.

The newly discovered Picassos include a watercolour from his Blue Period, and experts believe nine cubist works in Mr Le Guennec's possession are worth £33million alone.

Police have reportedly already raided Mr
Le Guennec's home on the Cote d'Azur and confiscated the paintings.

A Picasso work entitled 'Papier colle pipe et bouteille (Copy paste pipe and bottle) is among the new discovery that has shocked the artworld